A recent study has revealed that high-fat cheese and cream might play a role in preventing dementia.
This research, published in Neurology The Medical Journal of the American Academy of Neurology, indicates that individuals consuming two servings of high-fat cheese daily as part of a balanced diet had a lower likelihood of developing dementia.
“For decades, discussions surrounding high-fat versus low-fat diets have influenced health guidance, often branding cheese as an unhealthy option,” remarked Dr. Emily Sonnestedt, the study’s lead author and an associate professor at Lund University in Sweden.
“Our findings suggest that certain high-fat dairy products might actually diminish the risk of dementia, thereby challenging longstanding beliefs about fat and cognitive health.”
The study evaluated data from 27,670 older adults, monitoring their health over an approximate span of 25 years to identify who developed dementia.
Researchers also requested participants to track their dietary intake for a week and assess any changes in their eating habits over recent years.
Results showed that individuals consuming a nutritious diet with at least 50 g (1.8 oz) of high-fat cheese per day had a 13 percent reduced risk of dementia compared to those who ingested less than 15 g (0.5 oz).
Focusing on vascular dementia, a condition characterized by insufficient blood flow to the brain, cheese consumers experienced a 29% lower risk.
Additionally, participants consuming 20 grams (0.7 ounces) of heavy cream—such as whipped cream, clotted cream, or double cream—had a 16 percent decreased risk of dementia.
Conversely, no similar association was found with low-fat cheese, cream, or other dairy products.
“These findings imply that not all dairy items equate when it comes to cognitive health,” stated Sonestedt.
Items like buttermilk, yogurt, and kefir show no impact on dementia risk – Credit: Getty
An essential factor in this study is its execution in Sweden, where cheese is frequently consumed uncooked.
When cheese is melted, its composition transforms and the fat separates, potentially influencing how our bodies absorb it.
The researchers advocate for similar studies in other nations since outcomes might differ in places like the United States, where cheese is often heated prior to consumption.
“Additional research is essential to verify our findings and explore whether specific high-fat dairy products truly offer some level of protection for brain health.”
WThe temperatures are plummeting, and we all crave a bit more comfort. For some, it’s about getting a plush bed with a fresh memory foam mattress topper or an ergonomic office chair. For others, it’s a chic waterproof hooded scarf to style your wet hair, or a hair dryer that’s ready to return to action.
And for some of you, that might just mean a fringe party skirt and a cheese box arriving in the mail. Who are we to judge? These are your top picks for the month.
When Jane Hoskin, an insomnia sufferer and filter reviewer, experimented with the best (and odd) sleep aids, she didn’t expect a simple sub-£10 eye mask to afford her a solid 9-hour slumber. “The best masks truly obstruct all light without feeling flat or too tight on your eyes,” she shares, calling MyHalos her “ideal match.”
If you’re astonished to find an advent calendar among your favorite products for September, it seems the beauty advent calendar craze has evaded you. People shell out extensively for a selection of these products, which promise significant savings on their contents. Your top choice is, unsurprisingly, the “shockingly affordable” W7 calendar. Reviewer Sarah Matthews noted that the included items “stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the industry’s finest,” albeit they are mostly miniatures.
Office Chair Upgrade
Slouching Task 1
£289 on Slouch
If you’re still working from home on a dining chair, it’s time for a change. Your work chair needs to be as supportive and comfy as your most-used pieces of furniture, like your mattress.
Reviewer Stuart Andrews spends extended hours at his desk, and he was the right person to evaluate the best office chairs. The Slouching Task 1 emerged as his top choice, providing him “everything you desire from a work chair.”
Eco-Friendly Scourers
Non-Kilo Scourers
£13.47 on eBay£3.75 on Amazon
Cotton scourers serve as an excellent way to cut down on plastic waste in your kitchen. “These are amazing for cleaning,” says Maggie, a filter reader and Sustainable Swaps guide. “They’re not packed with food like typical sponge scourers, and I toss them in the wash weekly to keep them fresh.”
Chic Rain Cover
Waterproof Hooded Scarf
£39.15 on Etsy
Looking stylish in the rain can be challenging. However, our fashion writer, Charlotte Gornoll, has crafted the ultimate guide to staying fashionable in wet weather. Your top styling tip was this waterproof hooded scarf. “If your jacket lacks a hood, why not complement it?” Charlotte suggested, likening it to “the late Queen Elizabeth’s stylish touch.”
Letterbox Cheese Board
Perfect British Cheese Board
£10 at Butlers
Of all the gifts that fit through a letterbox, is there anything better than a quality cheese board? A standout from our guide features three exquisite cheeses (Blacksticks Blue, Button Mill, Sunday Best) accompanied by track-reading figure relish and Peter’s yard crackers.
Top Budget Hair Dryer
Babyliss Hydro-Fusion
£60 on Look Fantastic£31.99 on Amazon
“In my years of reviewing beauty products, upgrading my hair dryer brought the most significant change to my routine,” stated Sarah Matthews in his guide to the finest hair dryers. “Modern hair dryers have changed the game.” Sarah’s favored budget option, Babyliss Hydro Fusion, is “sturdy and powerful,” and is currently priced at £31.99 on Amazon.
Mattress Toppers
Panda Bamboo Topper, Double
£139.95 for Panda
“A mattress topper is like the cheese slice on a burger,” wrote reviewer Jane Hoskin. “While not essential, it can be a game changer, particularly if your mattress feels worn out.” Jane found the Panda bamboo topper to be the coolest option in her mattress topper tests despite being memory foam based. Clearly, many of you were drawn to the idea of “not feeling your restless partner’s movements.”
Party Skirt
Fringe Detail Mini
£50 on M&S
“This M&S skirt is an absolute winner,” noted Jess Cartner Morley in the style essentials for September. “I mean, look at it. All the tassels, perfectly cheeky (short but not too short), in chic off-white colors.” Clearly, many shared this sentiment, as this stylish party skirt emerged as a favorite.
Quick Clothing Steamer
Russell Hobbs Steam Genie
£28 at John Lewis
“I determined to be an ironed-clothes kind of woman,” writes Kate McCusker in the Green to the Grand Style Guide for All Ages. “Yet, I’m still waiting for that transformation, so I rely on this steamer in the morning to prevent my clothes from looking like I just rolled out of bed.” It appears many filter readers are still on that journey.
Ceramic Frying Pan
Procook Elite Tri-Ply
£48 on Procook
Trendy kitchen gadgets come and go, yet a dependable frying pan remains an essential kitchen item. We look for durability, easy cleaning, and hopefully no harmful chemical coatings. Is that too much to wish for? Dale Berning Sawa examined twelve premier frying pans under rigorous conditions. Your top pick was this Procook ceramic frying pan, praised for its impressive quality and reasonable price.
MP3 Player – Seriously
Snowsky Echo Mini
£66.99 on eBay
If you thought you’d stepped into a time machine upon seeing the advent calendar, wait until you come across an MP3 player (especially one with a cassette tape design). Yet, digital audio players are staging a comeback, appealing to those who want to unplug from streaming services while taking control of their music. This economical pick from the sub-brand Snowsky offers a “nostalgic vibe” while Alan Martin noted in his review, “delivers a much richer sound compared to other budget gadgets I’ve tested.”
Vegan cheese faces challenges against dairy products
Aamulya/Getty Images
If you’re passionate about cheese but concerned about its significant environmental effects, there’s promising news. The key milk proteins used in cheese and yogurt production can be synthesized directly from non-animal sources, beginning with bacteria and utilizing plant-based materials.
“This will considerably lower the carbon footprint,” says Suvasini Balasbramanian from the Institute of Technology Denmark.
While dairy products consist of intricate chemical combinations, the primary component in cheese is casein, a protein that forms micelles, enclosed in calcium structures.
Initially produced in mammary cells, casein undergoes phosphorylation, adding phosphate to its base, which interacts with calcium and is crucial for micelle formation.
Creating casein proteins without genetic alteration in bacteria is straightforward; however, achieving effective phosphorylation has been a challenge. “We have not yet succeeded in adapting cow enzymes for bacteria,” Balasbramanian indicates. “It has been a longstanding challenge among startups and businesses.”
Her team has now successfully produced a specific type of phosphorylated casein using E. coli bacteria and bacterial enzymes. Although this variant has additional phosphates, Balasbramanian believes the phosphorylation process might differ by cow species. “I don’t think it will hinder protein function,” she assures.
Researchers are extending their work to develop cheese and other dairy alternatives from protein sources. As Balasbramanian points out, there’s potential for success; however, other types of casein may also be required. Notably, kappacasein can be modified through sugar addition rather than phosphate.
Currently, they are in the process of producing several kilograms of cheese. Approximately 24 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions are associated with traditional production, a stark contrast to under 2 kilograms from most plant-based foods. The vision is to significantly diminish emissions and environmental effects through techniques like precision fermentation or cellular agriculture, addressing both ecological and animal welfare concerns.
The carbon footprint of cellular agriculture varies based on the feedstock for the microorganisms and the energy consumed in production. Balasbramanian mentions that her team is experimenting with ingredients derived from alfalfa grass.
Tracing the world’s oldest cheese is challenging, but direct evidence shows that humans have been consuming milk for millennia.
Archaeologists have discovered milk residues in ancient pottery from various locations worldwide.
Research on carbon isotopes of fatty acids from pot residues reveals that humans have been consuming milk in the UK since 4000 BC. However, in Anatolia, a region in Türkiye noted for its Neolithic agriculture, evidence suggests milk consumption dates back even earlier to around 7000 BC.
Farmers in Anatolia were widely mobile. Although milk fat residues often degrade over thousands of years underground, the sheer number of ceramic pieces found leads scientists to speculate that these early peoples were likely producing long-lasting dairy products like cheese.
When milk is transformed into cheese, lactose levels decrease, helping to mitigate lactose intolerance, which was common across Europe. It wasn’t until approximately 3,000 years ago that genetic mutations became prevalent, enabling adults to produce lactase.
A 2023 study from York University found protein structures in a Polish late Neolithic pot, suggesting it contained cheese made from the milk of cows, goats, and sheep.
The oldest surviving cheese sample dates back about 3,500 years – Illustration credits: Jessley
The oldest cheese sample still known today is approximately 3,500 years old and was found around the neck of a Bronze Age mummy in the Xiaohe Cemetery in northwestern China.
A team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted an analysis of this specimen, identifying it as kefir cheese (fermented bacterial milk). The scientists found DNA from various bacteria and yeast species, including Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens and Pichia kudriavzevii, which are present in kefir today.
They hypothesize that the lump could represent a kefir starter grain, a concentrated bacterial colony used to initiate cheese fermentation. These grains were likely regarded as valuable offerings for the afterlife in ancient times.
This article addresses the question, “What is the oldest cheese in the world?” posed by Scott Mills of Watford.
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